Thunder Cake
by Selestyna Arpa364
Summary: TokinexYoshi Tokine is terrified of thunder, so Yoshimori decides to help her make a cake to distract her from her fear. T for swearing.


**A/N: I used to love the story Thunder Cake when I was little and I did make it once with my mom. It was yummy! Nope, I don't own Kekkaishi.**

Yoshimori was training. On a Sunday morning, at 7 am _quietly_. If there was a day that strange things would occur, this was that day.

It was cloudy, as it had been for the last two days, the wind was cool, but not uncomfortably cold for being early October. Everyone was out of the house for the day. Yoshimori's grandfather (and Tokine's grandmother) had left for a trip to the hot springs sponsored by the senior's center and wouldn't be back until late Thursday night. ("YES! Almost a week without gramps! I get to bake all the cakes I'll ever want!") His father was in Kyoto for a business meeting with his publisher and his younger brother was at a sleepover and wouldn't be back until after school on Monday.

"Ah! This is perfect, I get to train however I want without Gramps having a cow. And because I used a kekkai on the house, there's no way I'm going to break anything," he said giggling sneakily. He stretched and was about to start running when he tripped over a planter and.

"Oh no, that was Gramps's favorite planter! DAMNIT NOW I HAVE TO FIX THIS!" Twenty minutes later (ten of which involved un-gluing his fingers) he began jogging. Then he did "at least a million" sit-ups, squats, and push-ups and got to work on his kekkai training. He had just perfected the 'super strengthening technique' when he felt a certain wet something fall on his face.

"Ah damnit, it wasn't supposed to rain today!" But it did, and despite all meteorological signs that it wouldn't rain, the sky insisted on pouring forth buckets of the offending substance onto Yoshimori's head.

In simple terms, it began pouring.

Yoshimori ran inside. "Well so much for my day of training…" His smile shifted to look sly. "I guess this means that I'll have to bake all day to keep me out of trouble." He rushed off to take a shower.

Meanwhile, next door in the Yukimura residence, Tokine was also home alone, doing the dishes. She heard the soft pit-pat, and looked outside.

"Oh, it's raining." She smiled. She loved the rain, as long as it didn't…

_Rumble rumble_.

"Oh no."

Back over at the Sumimura's, Yoshimori just got out of the shower and was comfortable dressed in jeans and a long sleeved white shirt. He was rubbing his hair dry, contemplating what kind of cake he should make.

"Hmm…chocolate or vanilla? No, I made those both recently. Carrot cake? Nah, dad doesn't like it too much. Red velvet sounds good, but I dunno if we have any buttermilk. Maybe cheese cake if I…"

KA-BOOOM! Yoshimori jumped a second. Then it came to him. He ran for his recipe file (secretly stashed in a box of sutras) and began sifting through it. "Ah-hah! Found it! Thunder cake is perfect for this kind of weather." He put the recipe in his pocket and put the recipe file back. He walked back to the kitchen, discarding his towel in the hamper.

The lightning flashed again and was followed by a loud BOOM soon later. "Hmm, I wonder if Tokine will like this cake, she used to love the rain but she was terrified of…" He stopped. "Crap! Tokine is terrified of thunder!" He rushed to put on his shoes and was almost out the door when he stopped.

"What am I doing? Tokine was five when she was scared of thunder. It'd be stupid for me to go charging over to her house uninvited." _Not to mention probably suicidal if I just barged in there._ He thought sourly.

He walked back to the kitchen. He began pulling out a mixing bowl when he heard the phone ring.

"OW! Damn cupboard…" He rubbed his head again as he reached for the phone. Caller ID said it was the Yukimuras. He picked up immediately. "Hello, Sumimura residence."

"…" He heard a sniff. "Tokine? Is that you?" There was another BOOM and a squeal and the line went dead. Immediately he rushed out the door, locking it behind him (he had a key). Using several kekkai, he jumped over the wall separating the properties and ran to the front door. It was locked.

"Damnit! Wait, I wonder…" He checked in the potted plant next to their steps and found a key. He quickly opened the door and rushed inside. The lights were on. "TOKINE!" _If I remember correctly, her room is down the hall, first door on the right._ He slid open her door, and as expected he couldn't see her. (Which had nothing to do with the fact that the lights were turned off.) He walked over to her closet and opened the door. There, tucked in the corner…

"Tokine." Tears were streaming down her face, her hands covered her ears, and her eyes were shut tight. Impulsively he touched her shoulder to comfort her. Her eyes flew open and she looked frightened, until a flash of lightening lit up his face.

"Yoshimori?"

"…Hi…"

She tackled him in a tight hug. "What took you so long?" She cried into his already wet shirt. Yoshimori blushed. _Oh crap, what do I do?_ He settled for patting her head, then when he was sure he wasn't being too forward, he wrapped his other arm around her back and gently hugged her back, tight enough to comfort her, but not enough to deprive her of oxygen.

Tokine's heart skipped a beat when he did, she didn't expect this from him, but it felt nice that he remembered…that he cared. She silently admitted that she wouldn't have let ANYONE else know about her fear, let alone comfort her like this. She tightened her grip around his body as she heard another earsplitting rumble. After several minutes (in which he held her every time thunder rumbled overhead) Yoshimori broke their silence.

"You know…it helps to focus on something else when you're scared."

"What else can I focus on, I have nothing to do today and mom won't be back until late this evening."

"Er um…well, you could help me bake a Thunder cake." Tokine looked up at him, surprised.

"A what?"

Yoshimori blushed deeper, finding her face so close to his. "Well, it's a cake you only make in this weather. Wanna make it?" He fully expected her to say no, but surprisingly she shrugged her shoulders.

"Sure, whatever to keep my mind off the…do you have a recipe?"

Yoshimori nodded and helped her up. They both made their way to the kitchen. "So, what are we going to need?"

"We'll start with a large bowl, a whisk, some measuring cups for dry ingredients and liquids, and a spatula." Tokine got all the things out, wincing as she spied a fork of lightning from the corner of her eye. They both washed their hands and put on aprons.

"What's first," she asked. Yoshimori took out the recipe card from his back pocket.

"Well let's see…'preheat to 350." Tokine turned the dial. "What now?" Lightning flashed again followed by a KABOOM! She jumped and screamed.

Yoshimori jumped because of her scream. "Tokine, if you keep screaming that loud, the neighbors will think you're murdering a cat."

She frowned. "My screaming does NOT sound like a dying cat! And _you're_ my neighbor."

Yoshimori smiled evilly. "Yeah, well you just missed that last thunder clap, so at least your scream was good for something right?"

KABOOM. "What?" She didn't jump.

"Well that thunder, but anyway next we have to cream some ingredients together. Do you have any shortening?"

"Um, yeah." She reached into the cupboard and grabbed the tin. "How much do we need?"

"We need a cup of that, some sugar, vanilla, and three eggs separated." She went back to the cupboard for the rest of the ingredients.

"1 ¾ cup sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla, creamed one at a time."

"What does it mean creamed?" Tokine wasn't in the habit of making cakes, so this terminology was new (heck she was surprised _Yoshimori_ knew what it was).

"It's just another word for mixing…some guy probably just called it that to sound impressive," Yoshimori replied, carefully adding the sugar then the vanilla.

_It worked_, Tokine thought. She went to the refrigerator to get the eggs. She placed them on the counter next to Yoshimori's arm.

"Thanks, can you separate the first one?"

"Umm…"

"What?" KA BOOM! The thunder rolled and Tokine screamed again.

Yoshimori covered his ears as a reflex. "Geez Tokine, I'm right here! I get that thunder is scary, but you don't have to yell at me!"

Tokine stopped, annoyed. "I wasn't yelling at you Yoshimori, I was screaming at the thunder."

"Well it can't hear you, so I don't really see the point" he said blandly. She stared at him. "What?"

"You know, I hadn't really thought of it like that…"

"I think that's the problem."

"What?"

"That you think about it, you know, your fear of thunder. The more you think about it, the more scared you get." There was an awkward pause, then he said, "Anyway, will you separate the first egg for me?"

"I don't know how…I've never had to separate an egg before."

Yoshimori blinked. "Really? It's not too hard, I'll show you." He grabbed another bowl and an egg. Quickly and deftly he cracked the egg and began passing the yolk back and forth between the egg shells. "The idea is to only get the egg whites into the spare bowl. The yolk we can blend in now."

"Why?"

"I dunno…anyway, your turn."

She grabbed an egg and carefully cracked it. She partially opened the egg and intended to let the egg sit upright and thus easily catch the yolk. "Oops…" the bottom half of the eggshell cracked and yolk began running down her fingers. Swiftly, Yoshimori deposited the ruined egg in the trash bin and pulled up her sleeves so the yolk wouldn't stain her cuffs.

He chuckled. "Well that didn't work." She walked over to the sink and washed her hands, frustrated by the complexity of separating a stupid egg. When her hands were clean, she tried again…and the same thing happened.

"Yoshimori, you should just do this yourself, you're a lot better at this than I am," she stated matter-of-factly.

Just then there was an extra loud crash of thunder and Tokine screamed again, tears filling her eyes. She covered her ears and scrunched her eyes shut. Without another thought, Yoshimori wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a comforting hug. The thunder crashed again, showing off its awesomeness. Tokine buried her head into Yoshi's shoulder. One of his hands came up and he stroked her hair. Despite her fear, Tokine smiled a bit. This was an old trick from when they were children. Tokine used to rub his head to comfort Yoshimori after he got hurt. She immediately calmed down and they stayed in that position until the worst passed.

Quietly, Yoshimori voiced a thought. "It's the lightning you're really scared of, right?" She nodded into his shoulder. "The thunder scares you but it's mostly the lightning." She nodded again into his shoulder. "Why?"

She wiped her eyes, still not pulling away from him. "Because…I'm scared that the thunder will hit me or the house or my family."

Yoshimori raised his hand. "Ketsu."

"What did you do?"

"I placed a giant kekkai around the house, so the lightning won't hit you." She blinked, surprised. Then she pulled him into a hug of her own.

"Thank you."

Yoshimori immediately blushed. "Um…no problem." She let him go. And Yoshi stood there a second, not sure what to do. "Um…so…uh, the egg…"

"Oh right," she grabbed a third egg and cracked it when Yohimori's hands covered her own.

"Crack it open slowly." His breath tickled the back of her neck. She nodded mutely. Carefully she cracked the egg open and his hands guided hers so the egg white fell into the bowl but the yolk stayed in the egg shell. Yoshi smiled.

"Good job."

"Thanks. Now what?"

"Um, can you beat the large mixture with the yolks in it? Then beat the egg whites 'till they feel a bit stiff and add them to the mixture with the yolk ok? I'm gonna start on the dry ingredients."

They set to work on their tasks, Tokine beating the mixtures and Yoshimori sifting the dry ingredients. When Yoshimori was done he checked the recipe "Tokine, will you add the dry mixture to the liquid stuff for me?" She nodded and he began scouring her pantry.

"Yoshimori, what are you doing?"

"A-HAH! Found it," he shouted from within the pantry.

"Found what?"

"Tomato puree," he shouted triumphantly, holding it above his head. Immediately Tokine gave a small squeak and hid behind the counter.

"What's wrong Tokine?"

"Tomatoes. Are. EVIL." An evil aura developed around her but she still flinched at the thunder that rumbled overhead.

"They're not evil. And besides-"

"They are too evil! They taste gross and they look gross!"

"Then don't look at them…" He opened the can, and without another word, dumped the can in.

"What did you do that for?"

"The recipe calls for tomato! Don't worry, you won't even taste it." Tokine wasn't so sure, but didn't argue. Yoshimori added all the in the final touches. Tokine helped him pour the mix into two pans and they put them in the oven to bake.

Yoshimori closed his eyes a second and smiled. "Another cake, perfect."

Tokine smiled a bit. "It's a little too early to tell that, but if you say so." There was a short pause. "So…now what do we do?"

Yoshimori smiled a little grimly. "Now we clean up." They both groaned, but cleaned the entire kitchen before the cakes were done.

"Oh, I forgot to ask, do you have any strawberries and chocolate frosting?" He took off his apron and folded it neatly.

"Um…come to think of it, I think we do, the frosting is in the pantry and the strawberries are in the fridge."

Yoshi collected them and placed them on the counter. "Hey, it stopped thundering."

"Really?" Tokine looked outside. Sure enough, water was still coming in buckets but there was no sign of any thunder."

"Phew, thank goodness for that." The timer on the stove rang.

"Perfect timing," said Yoshimori. Carefully he pulled out the two pans to let them cool. When they were about room temperature, he and Tokine carefully iced the cake and decorated the top with strawberries. When they were finished, they stood back to admire their handiwork.

"So…now what," asked Tokine.

"It's the best part! Now we eat it!" He handed her a fork.

"We eat it?"

"Yeah, unless you want to stare at it." He cut two slices and handed her one. She paused, waiting for Yoshi to take the first bite.

He savored it before swallowing. "Yup! It tastes good!"

She neatly cut into her slice and carefully took a bite. "Wow, it doesn't taste like tomato at all."

"I told you! It's good right?" She nodded and they both ate in silence. When they were finished, Yoshi did the dishes.

"You didn't need to."

"I know, it's habit though."

"Yoshimori?"

"Yeah?" He looked up at her. Her head was bowed.

"Thank you…for staying."

He smiled. "That's what friends are for you know!" Deep down though, he felt a small ache for not being able to be more than a friend to her.

"Also…if you need help on another cake…" she never finished that sentence because there was a flash of lightning followed almost immediately by a loud crack of thunder. Tears sprang to her eyes and she screamed. Immediately Yoshimori was at her side, patting her shoulder until she threw her arms around his waist.

"It's okay," he murmured, patting her head and holding her close. He was no longer shocked at her hugs, but his heart still sped up. He stood there, just holding her for twenty minutes until the thunder and the rain finally passed. After it was all over, he quietly released the kekkai.

"It's over." She nodded into his chest. When he realized she had no intention of moving, he slowly lowered his chin to the top of her head and began smoothing her hair. Tokine was too comfortable to want to move and Yoshi rubbing her head only encouraged these sentiments. She closed her eyes and enjoyed his warmth, his scent, his (rather fast) heartbeat, and his gentle hand on her head. After a while, he stopped and gently cupped her cheek, moving her face so she could look at him. There was a short pause, and Yoshimori slowly closed the gap and kissed her.

Tokine was shocked, there were a million feeling and thoughts running though her mind. The kiss only lasted a second, when Yoshimori pulled away to observe her face.

"Well that was-" He didn't let her finish that idea because he kissed her again, one hand gently on her shoulder, the other resting on her back. Again, Tokine was too shocked to move.

Yoshi pulled away from her and turned around rubbing the back of his head to calm his nerves. "Sorry."

"For what," she asked.

"…For…you know…kissing you…" he blushed at that thought.

Tokine thought a second. "…Why did you kiss me?"

Yoshi slumped his shoulders a second, then turned to look at her, determined and a little sad. "Because…I've liked you for a long time Tokine…ever since we were kids."

She felt winded. She felt giddy with happiness and nervousness at the same time. She stood, walked over to Yoshimori and hugged him.

"That makes two of us…" She smiled at Yoshi's look of shock before kissing him. Now it was Yoshi's turn to be surprised, but quickly his eyes slid shut and he returned the kiss.

When they finally broke apart, Yoshi asked the question that had been plaguing him for a while.

"I thought you only dated tall guys?"

Tokine blushed at this, but grinned. "I can always make an exception."

**A/N: Okay as cheesy as that kiss was, it happened to me over Spring break. Very romantic since it was on a beach. Anyway I hope you review and I hope you enjoyed this. **


End file.
